My Light Beyond the Darkness
by Nikki of Spira
Summary: Weddings are a time for celebration, reflection, and nostalgia. Unless you're Tidus then perhaps it's a time for drama and separation anxiety. On the day of his daughter's wedding, Tidus struggles with letting go, and the fears he's kept bottled-up his entire life. [Spin-off to my story, "The Truth Beyond the Dream."] Rated M for a reason! First-person Tidus POV


_Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Final Fantasy franchise._

_A/N Please read for clarity: This is sort of a spin-off/sequel to my story, "The Truth Beyond the Dream." If you have not read that story, I strongly suggest you do so before reading this one. If you are in the process of reading that story, I suggest finishing it, since there is an abundance of spoilers ahead. While I've tried to incorporate enough backstory details in this, those who have not read its predecessor may find this story to be a bit AU, since you'll be missing a significant chunk of world building that had happened and a few OC's that were introduced. This was written as an old-style novella so there are no chapters just scene breaks—it's intended to be read in one sitting. Hopefully, that doesn't become too big of a deterrent. Enjoy!_

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**My Light Beyond the Darkness**

_Sometimes the most formidable foe is the one which lurks deep within…_

When I was seventeen, all I seemed to care about was; blitzball, girls, and brooding over my old man. It's funny how things changed as I grew older. I hardly recognize that person anymore. Yuna had changed me… Hell, my whole journey in Spira had changed me. I was no longer that decadent boy who'd first arrived in a strange world. I was now a man at the ripe age of forty with almost as many stories to tell as Maechen—I mean, Thaliak. Man… Three years later and I was _still_ trying to process Hydaelyn and The Twelve actually being _real_. Not to mention, how I was a descendant of The Goddess, Nymeia—that one never got old at Yuna's dinner parties. I could hardly believe it, myself. I probably wouldn't if it weren't for the powers my daughter and I shared.

It had taken _most_ of Spira some time to accept the truth—not just me. And I couldn't blame them entirely for how they'd reacted to those revelations. The level of betrayal Spirans had experienced by the so-called fayth, had invoked such rage; it had resulted in all of the temples being burned to the ground. And while I was never a fan of Yevon—or any of the fraudulent creatures that had called themselves the fayth—destroying those buildings, which had paid homage to fallen summoners over the years was not one of Spira's finest moments. But I guess it was just their way of starting anew. I just wish there would've been some way to salvage Braska's statue for Yuna…and our kids.

_Our kids…_ There was a time when I'd thought having a family with Yuna would've been impossible, back when I'd believed I was a dream and all. But when I'd discovered I was going to be a father, and to twins, no less—I was ecstatic. I, honestly, didn't even care that we were barely twenty at the time and yet to be married. Strangely enough, it was back during the pilgrimage—after I'd fallen in love with Yuna—when I'd first fantasized about her mothering my children, which I guess stemmed from my empty and dysfunctional childhood. The funny thing about kids is… well, they really _do _grow up too fast. And it was one of the many issues I was struggling with recently, especially on a day like today…

A wave of anxiety washed over me as my eyes darted from one stained-glass window to another, inside the newly erected Sanctum of The Twelve in Luca. It wasn't the cathedral that had me nervous, though. No… The building itself was actually quite spectacular with its carefully constructed white and golden dome along with its matching steeples and arches. Murals of The Twelve were painted on the walls throughout with the most remarkable one being of The Mothercrystal on the inside of the dome, looking down upon the rows of ivory pews filled with guests. And nestled between those two rows of pews lay a royal-blue, carpeted-aisle, leading up to an altar heavily decorated with colorful flower arrangements where a plump, ordained moogle hovered in front.

_This_ was what had me nervous. The big day had arrived. My palms were damp. My stomach was aflutter. Pulse racing… And it wasn't even _my_ wedding.

"Daddy… Relax, please." My beautiful daughter gave my hand a reassuring squeeze, and looked up at me with a matching smile. "It's gonna be okay."

_Yeah, Sure…_ I thought. The last time I'd been _this_ stressed was during my encounter with Nymeia in the Nexus. I jammed a finger into the collar of my tux, trying to loosen the bow tie around my neck that my wife, apparently, wanted to strangle me with earlier. There was a soft _pop_ that came from around my throat. I froze, knowing the top button to my shirt had popped off. With a dejected sigh, I abandoned my task, and hoped the damage I'd inflicted wasn't too noticeable, before stealing a glance at my daughter.

Trista was uncharacteristically calm with her arm in mine as we stood at the base of the aisle, where the bridesmaids were all lined-up in lavender-colored dresses, and ready to lead the way. It was almost like she had done this before as if it were no big deal. But when the hypello coordinator came by and held up its three, blue fingers, indicating how many minutes before the ceremony began; the broad smile on her lips coupled with the gleam of excitement in her eyes, made things clear—she was blissfully happy and more than ready to begin this stage of her life.

In an effort to calm my nerves, I drew in a deep breath, and exhaled heavily. It wasn't everyday a father walked his daughter down the aisle and gave her away to the man she loved. _Gave her away… _That was the part I dreaded. It seemed so final as if she'd never need me again. I didn't want to _give her away_ to anyone. She was _my_ _little girl_. She'd been _my_ _little girl_ for twenty years. And I'd continue to view her as_ my_ _little girl_, so long as there was breath in my lungs.

"Daddy…"

For a brief moment, she looked as if she were five-years-old again, her golden locks in pigtails as she clutched a plush moogle against her chest instead of the violet bouquet of flowers in her hands. I blinked, catching the concern in her blue eyes. She was no longer that sweet, baby girl. She was now a grown woman, wearing an elegant, white-satin gown—her long, blond hair styled in a half-up, half-down do, complete with a crystal tiara and matching veil nestled in at the very top. My little girl had blossomed into a remarkable, young woman…and a beautiful bride.

"Dad!"

I wasn't sure how long I'd been stuck in my reverie, but she was visibly shaken from the way her eyes slightly widened. "S-Sorry." I briefly squeezed my eyes shut and gave my head a shake, hoping it would somehow clear my mind. "I zoned out for a sec'. I'm fine, really."

Her brow creased with worry. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm—"

The music started, drawing my attention over to the archway. I could hear the shuffling of the guests rising out of their seats to stand. And when I glanced over at my daughter again, a knot formed in my gut. Her expression had fallen. She looked almost…sad.

"Tris," I whispered. "You and Vidina are gonna have a wonderful life together. I don't doubt that."

"But are _you_ happy for us?"

Stunned she'd ask such a question, my eyes widened and my breath caught in my throat. This was not the kind of conversation I wanted to have with my daughter only seconds away from walking her up the aisle. I had to fix this somehow—and fast. I'd never forgive myself if I ruined this day for her. And Yuna would be… well, let's just say; if I _didn't_ fix this, there'd be a funeral happening here the following day.

"Of course I'm happy for you two. I've just been afraid of…losing you. It's selfish, I know… I'm sorry." I lowered my gaze, partially due to the embarrassment of my admission, but mostly to avoid seeing the disappointment I was sure would be in my daughter's eyes. When she hadn't responded right away, I began nervously, sputtering. "I want you to be happy! And I know Vidina makes you happy! He's… He's a wonderful young man. And I—"

"You're my father," she calmly interjected. "I'll always love you…no matter what."

Words echoed from the past—my words; spoken to her almost as a vow, three years ago on the rocks at the back of our house. A smile tugged on my lips while the sting of tears threatened my eyes. What a selfish fool I'd been. I leaned in and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek, her face now aglow with happiness. "I'll always love you too, sweetheart."

"I know…" The bridesmaids had begun to file out—one by one. With her smile faltering, my daughter gave me a pleading look, and added in a tone barely above a whisper, "…but you have to let me live my own life now."

My stomach dropped. Those were words I needed to hear, but they still hurt all the same. Letting go of my baby girl was almost as painful as when I had to leave her mother standing on that airship when we defeated Sin almost twenty-three years ago.

For some odd reason, it was just now hitting me that my children were grown. My son, Zak, had moved into a townhouse in Bevelle with his fiancée, Alyse, just last week. And after today, Tris would have a new home with Vidina at the north end of the city, here in Luca—the movers scheduled to come for the rest of her stuff when they return from their honeymoon in a couple weeks. Tonight, for the first time in twenty years, Yuna and I would return to living in an empty house.

"Dad…" My daughter's concerned voice beckoned me out of my dreary thoughts. With a worried glance and a tug on my arm, she softly urged, "It's time to go."

I nodded and offered her a weak smile, then led my daughter down the aisle to the ginger-haired, young man, nervously fidgeting with his tux at the very end of it. When Vidina caught sight of his beautiful bride, he seemed more at ease, relaxing his stance as his face brightened.

Quite frankly, there was no better guy I could've asked to be my future son-in-law. Vidina was not only my best friend's son, but someone I could honestly say; I trusted implicitly with my daughter's heart as well as her life. He really had earned my respect during the whole war with Spira's keepers. He'd not only demonstrated his bravery, fighting alongside us, but had possessed the humility I seemed to lack when it came to reaching out for help in a catastrophic situation. And in the past couple years, I'd come to think of him as a second son.

The joyful expressions of our family and friends seemed to blur together the closer we came to the altar. Time was a funny thing. The older I became; the quicker it seemed to pass. Part of me wanted to hold onto my daughter even tighter now. I knew eventually this moment would come. Just why did it have to come so soon?

Before I knew it, we'd arrived at our destination. Vidina stepped down from where he'd been standing and took his position on the other side of my daughter, eagerly waiting for the next part of the ceremony to begin. My son, standing in the best-man's spot—his shaggy, brown hair actually neatly trimmed for once—offered an encouraging nod and a wink in my direction as though he knew how much I needed the support at that precise moment.

The music stopped—and my heart almost along with it. Suddenly, my breaths quickened. I could feel the onset of a panic attack coming on—something I've become all-too-familiar with since returning to Spira from that darkened abyss. I focused on slowing my breathing and stared at the mural of Nymeia to the right of the altar, praying for the goddess to lend me the strength to get through this.

After clearing its throat, the moogle minister rather jubilantly bounced around in the air, and waved its tiny arms for all the guests to be seated. "Family and friends, we are gathered here today to join this man…" the moogle motioned over to Vidina with its pom-pom and microscopic hands, then repeated the gesture in the same way toward my daughter, "…and this woman in holy matrimony! Who gives this woman to this man, kupo?"

For a moment, I thought I'd lost my voice. My lips had parted, but nothing came out. I drew in a quick breath and managed to respond on the exhale, "I do."

Both my daughter and Vidina gave me a wide grin as though I'd accomplished some great feat. And honestly, it really felt like I had. This was one of the most emotional days of my life. I couldn't be more proud and happy for my daughter. But I was also angry at myself for having this pang of sadness in my heart, which I just couldn't seem to shake.

And then it hit me—I was jealous and afraid. The future terrified me. Yuna and I had been parents for half our lives. And the other half was almost unrecognizable to both of us at this point. I didn't welcome the change like the old me would have. It was like looking into an empty void with no idea on how to fill it. My jealousy was obviously geared toward Vidina…for stealing my little girl. I didn't want to share my daughter with anyone. Hell, I don't think I even shared her much with her own mother over the years. I knew what I had to do. It was now time… time for me to honor Trista's request—for her to live her own life, and for me to get a grip on mine.

I unhooked my arm from my daughter's, kissed her cheek, and placed her hand into Vidina's awaiting palm. The young man nodded and gave me a knowing smile. I returned the gesture—a simple exchange of respect between two men with an understanding that they loved the same woman, but in two _very_ different ways.

With my part over, I joined my beautiful wife in the pew off to the side, eased myself onto the ivory bench, and prepared to watch the rest of the ceremony unfold.

"I'm proud of you," Yuna leaned in and whispered with a gentle squeeze of my hand.

A small smile inched across my lips. My wife had been worried I'd do something rash all day. I could tell with how she'd been hugging her arms and pacing almost every time I'd seen her earlier. Can't say I'd blame her with all the whining I'd done the night before—and every other night over the past few weeks. I'd been a basket-case and it was completely unjustified.

Somehow I'd managed to not notice, until now, how gorgeous my wife looked in that simple-but-elegant, champagne dress she'd been hesitant to wear—afraid it may be too sexy for a mother-of-the-bride. Yuna may have been correct in that regard, but I wasn't complaining as my eyes feasted upon the exposed flesh peeking out of the long slit up to her thigh, and the cleavage spilling over the silk-material hugging her chest.

Obviously distracted by my wife's choice in attire, I hadn't noticed her grip tightening on my hand, until she dug her freshly, manicured-nails into the flesh of my palm. I quickly disguised a yelp with a cough in an effort to minimize any attention drawn my way.

Thankfully, Yuna's grip on me eased as she, rather innocently, tucked a long strand of her mocha-colored hair behind her ear. I glanced down at my hand intertwined with hers, expecting to see blood dripping onto the ivory pew. Maybe it was too soon to tell, but it sure felt like she'd pierced through my skin. My gaze then settled upon my wife's face. And from the flash of fierceness in her mismatched eyes, it was safe to assume; she wasn't impressed by the timing of my…_appreciation_.

I quickly returned my attention to the ceremony, for fear of what she may do next, and silently watched up until the part where the moogle twirled happily in the air then proudly proclaimed, "I now pronounce you, husband and wife! You may now seal this union with a kiss, kupo!"

The venue erupted into applause and cheers before my new son-in-law could plant a kiss on his new bride. Of course Vidina didn't disappoint all of the spherecams aimed at them. In the true showboating fashion of a blitzball star, he dipped Trista in his arms, and gave her a fierce, almost exaggerated, kiss for everyone to talk about.

I let out a breath of a laugh and shook my head as I stood beside my wife and applauded the married couple. Life was strange. I'd done the same thing to Yuna at our wedding. Judging from the gentle nudge on my shoulder and my wife's toothy grin, she too, remembered it well.

At that moment, my stomach made a loud, gurgling sound.

Yuna giggled. "Yeah, I'm hungry too. Let's hope Luca's Golden Palace is everything it claims to be."

_Yes, food!_ Man, I was starving. I could've eaten a whole behemoth at that point.

As the bride and groom breezed down the aisle toward the exit, I grabbed my wife by the hand, shuffled out of the pew with her in tow, and dragged her over to the back doors.

"Tidus—wait!" she protested with a tug on my arm. "We should thank the guests before we leave."

I waved a dismissive hand and pushed open the exit, eager to escape the crowd. "We'll have plenty of time to do that at the reception. C'mon, I wanna snatch some Imp wings from the chef's table before everyone arrives."

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Luca's Golden Palace was the most pristine venue in all of Spira. Since Yuna and I only had one daughter, we had gone all-out on the wedding, which had suited Trista just fine. I had stopped by earlier that morning with Yuna to check on things, before heading out to the ceremony. And judging from the elaborate setup—it was worth every last piece of gil.

The room seemed to glow a soft violet with hints of blue—lighting obviously reflecting off the draping around the hall, which met in an array of sashes in the middle of the ceiling at the exquisite, crystal chandelier. Clusters of round tables with colorful, flower center-pieces were encircled by eight chairs on each, and were all draped in a shimmering, silver material that seemed to match the trim on my daughter's wedding gown. A spacious, marble dance floor was situated in the middle of the room, surrounded by all the fancy tables, and accompanied by four tubes of blue and violet, bubble-lights on each corner, extending all the way up to the ceiling. And at the front and center of it all was the head-table in all its splendor, adorned with much of the same décor as the guest tables, but with the exception of it being lit by a multitude of tiny orb-lights, making it glimmer like a cluster of stars in the night sky.

My daughter and new son-in-law would, no doubt, be very happy with the setting. Of course, the food was just as important, if not _more_ important than the ambience. And from what my wife and I had tasted months ago, we were quite confident the meal would be just as spectacular as the atmosphere.

When Yuna and I arrived at the venue this time, I didn't waste a second in heading straight for the kitchen, hoping to sample some appetizers. Unfortunately, the chef wasn't very accommodating—throwing his arms into the air, and grumbling about time, stress, and something about his creative mind. Yuna was way-too-polite as always, apologizing to the jerk, while gently ushering me out the door into the main hall before I could unload all my frustration on his '_creative mind'._ We were shelling-out over a hundred-thousand gil for this wedding. The least that bastard could've done was toss an imp wing, or two our way. Not only was I still starving, but now, I was seriously pissed off.

"Tidus… I know you're frustrated, but can you please _try_ to relax?"

With a heavy sigh, I massaged my face in my hands then let my arms drop to my sides in defeat. "Okay, I'll try."

Yuna did her usual cutesy head-tilt and looked at me with those innocent eyes. "Is that why you have such a scowl on your face?"

Alright, so apparently I had to try much harder. I attempted to feign a genuine smile, and judging from how Yuna pursed her lips then shook her head, it was anything but convincing. "I'm sorry. I'll perk up—I promise."

"Do we need to practice smiling, again?"

My eyes grew wide. "No!" I pleaded, holding up my hands in defense. "Anything but that!"

Yuna erupted into a fit of giggles. One of the many things I loved about my wife was her infectious laugh. And whether she had planned it, or not, she'd succeeded in reducing me into a shameless fit of laughter alongside her.

At that moment, the doors to the venue swung open, and the wedding guests began to flood into the main hall. Yuna and I did our duty and rushed over to greet everyone, thanking them for coming before the guests of honor arrived.

After everyone had filtered in, found their tables, and began to mingle; Wakka pulled me into a headlock and playfully rubbed his fist into my skull.

"Hey—cut it out!" I cried, struggling to break-free.

"We're finally family, ya?" Wakka released me only long enough to grab my shoulders and pull me into a crushing hug.

"Ooph! I always thought we were."

The jovial islander, drew back, and straightened his tux—the wide grin never leaving his face. "I know, but its official now, ya?"

I combed a hand through my tousled hair in an effort to fix it then folded my arms over my chest and playfully glowered at him. "I didn't think we needed a piece of paper to tell us we're family."

From the way Wakka's brows shot up in surprise, he was probably having one of those foot-in-mouth moments. "Yeah, but I… Well…" His face then creased into a frustrated frown. "Gawh—you know what I mean, ya?"

"Yeah, I know." I lightly chuckled and gave him a sturdy pat on the back of his shoulder. "I was just yankin' your chain."

"Aww…look at them, Yuna," Lulu chimed, sauntering over to us in her elegant, black evening gown with my wife following close behind. "You'd think they'd just gotten married, too."

"Jealous?" I grinned, throwing an arm around Wakka.

The fiery-mage smirked and waved a dismissive hand. "Not at all. You can have him."

"Eh!" Wakka frowned.

"Just as long as I get him on weekends," Yuna added with a wink in my direction.

Lulu raised an amused brow at her. "I didn't think we were _that_ kind of family, Yuna!"

"What—oh!" My wife's eyes grew wide as she realized her mistake. "No, that's not what I—not Wakka! I meant Tidus!"

The deep blush on Yuna's cheeks was priceless. I hadn't seen her that embarrassed in years. It was actually kinda cute. I eased my arm from around Wakka's shoulders and feigned a stern look at my wife, unable to resist taking her mishap further. "Something you wanna tell me, Yuna?"

My wife groaned and briefly hid her face in her hands, clearly still mortified.

Some things never change. I chuckled at her reaction and nudged Wakka on the shoulder with my own. "Guess we only got each other, man. You heard the wives—apparently I'm only good for a tumble on weekends, not sure about you though. But hey—you got me the rest of the week!"

"Heeeyyy! We givin' away husbands now?!" Rikku's emerald cocktail-dress shimmered with every step as she approached us with Gippal, all spruced-up in a tux, at her side. Her mock-cross expression eased into a sly smile. "Why didn't somebody tell me sooner?!" she chirped, giving her husband a shove forward and making him stumble over toward Wakka and I.

Once Gippal regained his balance, he turned, and shot her a playful glower. "Careful princess," he warned. "There's plenty of hot, younger women here, tonight."

"Yeaahhh…" she drawled, resting a hand on her hip, somewhat agitated by his quip. "…and how many of them would be interested in a man almost twice their age with three kids?"

"Hey, I'm still hot for thirty-nine!" he boasted, folding his arms over his chest. "And I'll prove it." He gestured with nod over to the brunette walking in our direction, who appeared to be at least ten years younger than him. "Watch this!" With what looked more like a goofy grin than anything else, Gippal approached the younger woman, and in a smooth voice, purred, "Hey there, save me a dance later?"

The brunette rolled her eyes and scoffed before retreating to a table somewhere near the back of the venue.

Wakka and I burst-out laughing at almost the same time as Rikku and our wives had, that is, until Gippal's expression fell, putting an abrupt end to all the laughter.

"Damn, that was cold of her, ya?" Wakka tried to say with a straight-face, his resolve faltering from the way the corners of his lips were twitching upward.

With a comforting pat on Gippal's shoulder, I tried to offer some reassurance to soothe his bruised ego. "C'mon man, she probably came with a date. Most people don't come alone to these sort of things."

"Uh-huh." He leered at me with his unpatched eye then over at Rikku, who was shaking her head at him in disbelief. "I'm gonna get a drink. Care to join me?"

"You bet!" I nodded. "Lead the way!"

"Think I'll hang back a bit, ya?"

"You sure, man?" I looked at Wakka with moderate concern, afraid something had happened lately to threaten his sobriety. "I made sure the bar was stocked with plenty of Besaidian ginger soda."

"Nawh—it's not that." Wakka gestured over to his wife with his thumb. "I'm afraid Lu may trade me in for a newer model if I leave her alone for too long."

Even I knew that comment would land Wakka into trouble. Sure Lulu had a sense of humor and all. But Wakka tended to take things a little far at times. And I could already tell Lulu wasn't impressed from how she cleared her throat and shot him a look that would melt steel.

"Alright then…" Gippal jerked his head over toward the mahogany counter where countless bottles were stocked on a glass shelf behind. "Shall we?"

As I followed my friend over to the open-bar, I had a gut feeling something wasn't right. The banter between him and Rikku may have seemed normal, but I'd sensed some underlying animosity being exchanged in their words. And the way they looked at each other at the end was very telling.

"What'sh can I get'sh for yooo?" The hypello bartender asked.

"Kilika fire-whiskey, straight-up—and make it double!" Gippal ordered, leaning against the glossy counter as though he'd fall over.

"And for yooo?"

Normally I'd refrain from having anything too hard to drink, but at this point, I thought; what the hell. I had a feeling I'd need it as the night progressed. "Make that two."

Gippal snickered and adjusted his eye-patch. "Gonna live it up, tonight?"

"More like live through it."

"Aww, c'mon, you and Yuna got it made now. Trista and Zak are grown, and out livin' their own lives. You guys are finally free."

I crinkled my nose and gave him a sideways glance, a little surprised by his response. "Funny… I don't see it that way."

The bartender set our drinks in front of us. I took a sip of the golden-brown liquid and watched in concern—and mild amusement—at how my Al Bhed buddy tipped the glass to his lips, emptying the contents in one gulp then set it back onto the counter.

"Sooo…" I began, cautiously. "What's going on with you and Rikku?"

Gippal raised a brow, his gaze never leaving his empty glass. "Is it that obvious?"

"Kinda…"

With a heavy sigh, Gippal rubbed his forehead then looked at me with a pained expression. "Our three boys are headin' into their teen years, and she…" he paused, pressing his lips tightly together as though he were reconsidering confiding in me. "...she wants to try for a girl now."

Not gonna lie—I was surprised Rikku wanted another child. Their three boys were a handful on their own. "Obviously, this is something you don't want."

"C'mon, man…" He wrinkled his face in disgust. "At our age?"

I cocked a brow, a bit offended by his implication, even though it was regarding only him and Rikku. But my wife and I weren't much older than the two of them. His words made me feel way older than I actually was. "Y'know…plenty of people _our age_ are still having kids. It's not that unheard of anymore with the eternal calm and all."

Suddenly, Gippal's expression softened and his shoulders slumped. "Man, I didn't mean—it's just… We barely have a moment alone, together, as it is. When I told her I didn't want any more kids, she didn't take it too well. I dunno what to do. Things at home are tense."

"When did all this happen?"

"Few weeks ago." Gippal waved over the bartender as I downed the rest of my drink. "Can we get two more over here?" He then turned his attention back to me and sighed before adding, "Somethin' about how her biological clock is tickin'. And how all our friends have girls and we don't."

It was beginning to seem like my daughter's wedding may have sparked this sudden urge in his wife. For a moment, I took comfort in knowing I wasn't the only one being driven crazy by this occasion. "You know Rikku—she'll probably sulk for a bit then get over it."

"Not sure I'll be that lucky this time. Maybe you can get Yuna to talk to her. If she'll listen to anyone, it'll be her cousin."

I offered him a tight smile, hoping with Yuna's help we could repair things between the two of them. "I'll see what I can do. You know I got your back."

"Thanks, man. I love my kids—you know that better than anyone. And I love Rikku, I really do. I just don't think havin' more children is what's best for us, right now. We need more time alone, together… not more responsibility."

"I hear ya. This is something you both need to agree on—can't be just one person."

"I knew you'd understand." Gippal seemed less tense, now resting an arm atop of the glossy, wooden counter with a relieved smile on his face.

"Speaking of your boys—where are they?"

"At home with Brother. They wouldn't be caught dead comin' to a wedding." Gippal scoffed. "It's too icky and mushy for them still." He scrunched his nose in a mocking way for emphasis.

Our drinks arrived, and with them, the woman I'd considered to be my sister from Zanarkand—Trin, in what looked like a not-so-modest, ruby-red dress, which showed way-too-much of her deep-bronze skin to my liking.

"Whatcha'll drinkin'?" She grabbed my glass, before Gippal or I could respond, and sucked back the whiskey in it like a pro. "Mmmmhmmm… Now dat some good shit, right 'dare."

"Well helloooo too you toooo, Triiinnn," Gippal drawled in what almost sounded like a song, clearly indicating my sister's rudeness. "Where's Buddy hidin'?"

Trin shrugged then flipped her ebony curls over her shoulder, swatting Gippal in the face with them in the process, and earning her a disapproving glare in return. "He aroun' here somewhere. Thought I'd come ova an' have a few drinks wit' my big brudda." My sister wedged herself between me and Gippal then looked at me with concern. "How ya holdin' up?"

"I'm fine."

"Mmmhmm… I know dat look. You's lyin'."

"And on that note…" Gippal grabbed his whiskey and gestured with it somewhere toward the back of the venue. "I'm gonna go find Buddy and leave you two alone."

I gave him a pleading look, hoping he'd reconsider, knowing my sister would force me to deal with my _feelings_. And I was anything but interested in engaging in a conversation like that, right now. I was perfectly content with trying to solve my friend's problems and slugging back some fire-whiskey.

"Catcha later, Tee!" Gippal chuckled. And then he was gone, leaving me alone to deal with…

"What's a'madda' wit' you?! Trin's brown eyes bore into mine, challenging me in a way that was usually limited to only my wife when I'd done something to infuriate her. "You been actin' like a damn foo,' y'know dat? Mopin' aroun' all day—hell, all week like yo' daughta died!"

"I haven't moped for at least an hour now." With an exasperated sigh, I motioned for the bartender to get me another drink. "Look, I know you think you're helping me, but I really don't need this, right—"

"Oh, heeell no!" Trin grabbed my wrist, slammed it down onto the counter, and forced me to look into her piercing gaze. "You sure as hell need dis, right now! You drivin' yo' daughta crazy! You drivin' yo' wife crazy! Hell, you even drivin' me crazy—and I knows dat can't happen, since yo' sorry ass drove me crazy when we was kids back in Zanarkand." My sister's hardened expression suddenly eased along with her grip on my wrist. "You's a lucky man, Tidus. Hell, we both is lucky. Shit…'member when we was twelve, dat time you an' I was cryin' 'bout all 'em kids, havin' dare families wit' 'em at da Zanarkand fair?"

I nodded, remembering the empty void I felt in my soul all those years ago.

"Well… I 'member you stopped cryin' first, which neva' happen' back den, an' you said; we's gonna have a big family one day. An' dat we'd neva' be alone in da world again." Her face brightened. "And you was right. You found Yuna, an' you made yourself a life wit' her. An' den fate found a way to get us together, again—wit' me arrivin' in Spira, 'cause of you being a demigod, or some shit. So why on a day when you addin' even more to yo' family, you actin' worse den dat lil' boy at da Zanarkand fair?"

And here I thought Lulu was the only one capable of serving harsh doses of reality. Trin was right to an extent. I_ was_ moping around as well as wallowing in self-pity. But there was more to it than that. My daughter's wedding had triggered something inside me. Something I didn't want to face. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just…afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

Drawing in a deep breath, I slowly exhaled, hesitant to answer her question as if voicing the words would somehow make them manifest into reality. "Losing everything."

"Tidus…" My sister slowly shook her head and gave me a sympathetic smile. "Only 'ting you's in danga' of losin' is yo' damn mind."

Just then, the _thoomping _sound of someone tapping on a microphone echoed throughout the venue. "Can I have your attention, please," the DJ announced. "We ask for you to kindly take your seats. The wedding party has just arrived and will be making their entrance shortly."

"C'mon," Trin urged, grabbing me by the arm and tugging me away from the bar over toward our table. "Y'know what 'dat means?"

"I sure do!" I responded with a gleeful chuckle, forgetting our heavy conversation for the moment as we hurried to our seats. "It means I _finally _get to eat!"

* * *

###

The wedding party had arrived, all wearing sunglasses for some odd reason, and doing some ridiculous dance all the way up to the head-table. I'll never understand it, but I guess I would've danced on the damn ceiling had it magically made food appear on my plate. Luckily, it wasn't long after when we were finally served with the five-course meal Yuna and I had paid up the wazoo for. And it was certainly worth the wait. Judging from the choir of sensual-like sounds emanating from everyone at our table, they too, had seemed to agree on the superb quality of the food.

Leaning back in my seat, I sighed, contently with my stomach now full, and sipped on a flute of champagne. My gaze wandered around the venue, eventually landing on my daughter and new son-in-law, sharing a kiss at the head-table, and blushing in the process. They did make a cute couple.

It was in that moment, I thought about all the loved-ones who couldn't share in this joyous occasion, and how much I wished they could've been there. Besides the family members who Yuna and I had lost when we were just kids, there were those whose lives had been cut short a couple years ago in what will forever be known as, The Tragic Quake of Gagazet.

Seems like only yesterday when I'd learned of the news. Cid and his crew had been working together with Kimahri and a team of Ronso to excavate some ancient machina hidden deep within the mountain. Unfortunately, disaster had struck when the ground shook in a significant seismic event, which hadn't been experienced—according to experts—in over a millennia. Hundreds of lives had been lost, swallowed up by the planet in a senseless tragedy that no one could've ever predicted. Not all catastrophes were the result of a dark force. Sometimes…bad things just happened.

A lump formed in my throat. Both Cid and Kimahri had come to really love weddings over the years. I was certain they would've been impressed by this one. They should've been here...

Soft music, suddenly, filled the room, shaking me from my morbid thoughts. The light from the chandelier dimmed, but the blue and violet, bubble-lights glowed even brighter as the bride and groom took to the dance floor. I watched, intently as the couple seemed to glide across the marbled surface like something out of a fairy-tale, beaming with love and happiness.

"Hey, you okay?" Yuna whispered, laying a comforting hand on my thigh.

I returned her gesture with a small smile. "Yeah, think I'm finally learning to…let go"

Leaning in closer, Yuna snuggled against my shoulder as we watched our daughter and her new husband continue to glide flawlessly across the dance floor. "You'll always be her father—that will never change. You know that, right?"

"So I'm told."

"…Do you know how often, over the years; I wished I had my father to talk to?"

My muscles tensed at my wife's rhetorical question. I hadn't really thought about it. Through my arrogance, I'd figured Yuna didn't need anyone else, since she had me. Unsure what to say, I stayed silent, and allowed my wife to finish her thoughts.

"Sure, you're my husband—the father of my children, and I can't imagine my life without you, but sometimes… sometimes a girl just needs her father to tell her everything's gonna be alright when her husband can't."

Now I was confused and a little offended. But then it dawned on me. How could I forget—keeping the truth about the fayth from her for seventeen years, what they really were, and all the world-ending crap involving our family? I'd thought our marriage was over back then. I just didn't expect for her to bring it up again on a day like today. "I can't tell you how sorry I am for putting you and our family through all that."

Yuna let out a dejected sigh. "I hadn't intended for that to be a slap in the face. I was trying to prove a point—that I wish my father was around then, so I had someone with experience to assure me everything would work out. And it's not just regarding that incident, but any time we've ever had an argument, or when one of the twins became ill and we didn't know what we were doing as new parents. Our children will always need us in some way. They're both entering a new phase of their lives—one we're more familiar with now. And we'll be there to guide them when they need it."

A smile tugged on my lips. "When did you get so wise?"

"I was _always_ this wise," she insisted in a playful tone. "Are you just now noticing?"

"Nah, I've always noticed—just didn't wanna admit it."

We fell into a comfortable silence, until Yuna, suddenly spoke, "You really love being a father, don't you?"

The seriousness in her tone had me glancing down to look her in the eye, unsure where she was going with this. "Of course… Why?"

At that moment the music stopped and the venue erupted into applause.

I kept my gaze locked with hers, trying to read through her vacant expression. "Yuna…"

Suddenly, her eyes widened. "The father-daughter dance—go!"

Scrambling out of my seat, I tripped over Wakka's chair that was turned in an awkward position, but managed to angle my body in a way to avoid falling and looking like a complete idiot.

"You okay, brudda?" Wakka reached out and grabbed my forearm, steadying me.

A warm sensation spread across my cheeks. I quickly glanced around, hoping my blunder hadn't been spotted by too many people, and praying it hadn't been caught on anyone's spherecam. "I'm fine. Thanks, man."

"Eh—no problem." Wakka chuckled. "Just make sure you don't do that out there, ya?"

Leave it to Wakka to say something that would make me even more nervous. I hadn't felt this jittery to take to a dance floor since _my_ wedding when I'd held Yuna in my arms. It's not that I couldn't dance, or anything—actually, I was quite good. I just wasn't fond of people staring at what I sometimes considered to be an intimate moment between two people, depending on the dance.

My beautiful daughter practically floated over and greeted me with a warm smile. "You okay, Daddy?" she asked, lacing one hand with mine and resting the other on my shoulder.

Fairly certain she'd witnessed my near mishap, I gave her an inquisitive look as I eased into position, and curled a protective arm around her waist. "You didn't see that back there, did you?"

Trista tilted her head slightly to the side in the way her mother would've and rather innocently asked, "See what?"

Her attempt to feign ignorance brought a smile to my lips. Sometimes, like now, she reminded me of her mother. And then there were the times—more often than not—she was a chip-off-the-o'l-block, which had made for an intense relationship between us. She deserved to be better than me. And from what I could tell, I'd succeeded in my goal. She _was_ better than me. I _still_ had no idea what to do with these new powers. But my daughter, she knew exactly what to do, and became a professional healing-mage—the best Spira's ever seen. Sharing the blood of a goddess had its advantages. I, however, was more concerned of guarding that power and finding a way to protect my bloodline from ever being used again in the future.

The music began to play—it's slow, enchanting melody, guiding us along the dance floor in such a graceful manner. As I gazed into my daughter's eyes, the world around us seemed to fade away. It was as though time had stopped just for the two of us, so we could have this moment.

"Dad…?"

"Yeah, sweetheart?"

Her eyes, which were gleaming with joy, suddenly became full of regret. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier."

Confused and surprised by her apology, I arched a brow, and gave her a questionable look. "Sorry for what—telling me how I needed to let you live your own life? Don't be silly. You were right to say that."

Trista lowered her gaze. "It's just that…" When her eyes, once again, met with mine, they were glossed over with unshed tears. "You're still gonna be there for me, right?"

It felt like all the air had been stolen from my lungs. Yuna was right—my daughter _did_ still need me. But I was deeply concerned as to why she was reacting this way, now of all times. "Of course, that goes without saying. I'll be here for you…_always_, sweetheart. Now, where's all this coming from?"

"I dunno." My daughter drew in a quick breath, and briefly shut her eyes—a clear indicator she was struggling to control her emotions. "I guess I'm just…scared."

Man, did that sound familiar. "About what?"

"Failing…at life, at everything. I dunno…"

I let out a breath of a laugh. _Like father; like daughter._ "Look, you're gonna make mistakes—it's part of life and how you learn. But I can assure you—I won't let you fall. You have a tremendous support system. Look around you. This room is filled with people who won't allow you or Vidina to crash and burn. Understand?"

Trista nodded with a relieved smile before her expression turned more thoughtful. "Y'know…I may be a married woman now, but I want you to know something."

"What's that?"

"No matter how old I get—I'll always be your little girl. And you'll always be my hero."

My throat tightened with emotion. I hadn't expected to hear those words spill from her lips. Her sentiment touched me deeply and threatened to shatter my resolve. Tears brimmed in my eyes, faster than I could hold them back. And as much as I'd tried, I couldn't keep them from escaping any longer.

"Daddy, don't cry."

"Too late," I managed to choke out. As the tears streamed down my face, I pulled my daughter close, and guided her head to rest on my shoulder so she couldn't watch my effluence of emotion.

During my struggle to regain my composure, I heard a sniffle that was not my own. "Don't you start, too. You'll ruin your makeup."

That elicited a slight giggle out of her. "I love you, Daddy."

I drew in a shaky breath and allowed for the air to slowly escape between my parted lips, before responding to my daughter in the calmest voice I could muster. "And _I_ love you, sweetheart."

The music began to fade—it's enchanting melody slowly becoming a memory, along with the fantasy of us being the only two in the world at that moment. I was _so close_ to believing it would never end. But it did. The song ended and the guests applauded.

Trista lifted her head to kiss my cheek then drew back in my arms and gave me a wide smile. "Thank you, Daddy…for everything."

I leaned in and left a tender kiss on her forehead then bopped the tip of her nose with my finger—something I hadn't done since she was fourteen. "You're welcome."

As I returned to my seat, I found Yuna dabbing the corners of her eyes with a tissue from her purse. At least Trista and I weren't the only ones who'd succumb to tears. "I see our dance was a tearjerker," I teased, easing myself onto the seat next to her.

Yuna responded by playfully backhanding my chest. "You were crying, too!"

"Great, everyone saw that?"

When my wife didn't respond with anything but sniffles, I grew concerned. "Is everything, alright?" Her arms and shoulders began to quiver as she buried her face into her hands and burst into tears. My heart leapt into my throat, unsure of what had happened. "Hey—you okay?" I slid a finger under her chin and tilted her head up to look me in the eye. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," she insisted, wiping the tears from her eyes as they mercilessly continued to fall. "I'm just…very emotional, right now."

_Yeah..._ I wasn't buying it. This was not like Yuna. The last time my wife became _this_ emotional was when we'd discovered Cid and Kimahri had died in that quake. There was something else going on—I could feel it in my gut. "Hey—talk to me!"

"I said I'm fine!" Yuna bounded out of her seat faster than I could blink and stormed off toward the restrooms.

I was about to chase after her when Trin snapped her fingers and motioned for me to sit as if I were her pet dog. "You can't go in 'dare! Dat's da ladies room!"

"I really don't care! Something's wrong!"

"A'ight, a'ight," she conceded, scooting back her chair so she could leave the table. "I got 'dis!"

"I'll go with you!" Rikku suggested, setting down her champagne flute in order to join my sister in her endeavor.

I massaged my face in my palms and let out a long breath. What the hell had happened? I thought everything was going rather smoothly up until this point. Then again, I'd been so preoccupied with my daughter and this whole wedding, it shouldn't surprise me that I'd neglected to notice something had been troubling my wife.

"Eh," Wakka said in a hushed tone, leaning in as though he were about to tell me a secret, "somethin' goin' on we should know about?"

My stomach knotted. I wasn't used to not having answers. I had no idea what was wrong with my wife. And that frightened me. "Your guess is as good as mine."

Thankfully, Lulu and Vidina had made it onto the dance floor before all the commotion. The mother-son dance had managed to go uninterrupted and had captivated the guests with ease, limiting those who'd witnessed Yuna's meltdown to be only the immediate family at our table.

I impatiently drummed my fingers on the silver linen as I kept looking back toward the ladies room. Gippal and Buddy remained quiet for the most part, exchanging wary looks and every-so-often casting a concerned glance my way. I craned my neck, once again, hoping to catch a glimpse of my wife, or either Rikku or Trin emerging with news.

When my hopes were dashed, I reached for a flute of champagne in an effort to settle my nerves. That plan, unfortunately, was foiled when the sweet, gingery liquid hit my tongue. Realizing I must've grabbed Wakka's drink by mistake, I screwed up my face and practically slammed the flute back onto the table in frustration.

"I'm sure Yuna's fine, ya?" Wakka stared at me with mild concern.

Knowing my behavior had shifted into asshole-mode; I sighed heavily and offered my friend an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I'm just really worried. By the way, I think that was your drink I grabbed."

"Nawh—mine's right here, brudda." Wakka lifted his flute as evidence. "I'd give those women a few more minutes before you charge in on them, ya?"

"Dad, is everything, alright?" My son had managed to sneak over with his fiancée during the wedding-party dance, his face wracked with worry.

"Shouldn't you two be on the dance floor?" I cringed, immediately hearing the irritation in my voice. This whole thing with Yuna was really starting to get to me, along with the amount of alcohol I'd consumed during dinner. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to sound so—"

"Mom!" A relieved smile eased across my son's face as his mother breezed over and greeted him with smile of her own. "Are you, okay? Alyse and I saw you run off. You looked upset."

"I'm fine. Just a little emotional about your sister. And missing you…"

Zak's expression fell. "Aww, Mom…" His arms were around her in an instant, wrapping her into a comforting embrace. "Alyse and I will visit often—I promise. And you and Dad are welcome to our place anytime. You know that, right?"

"I know." Yuna drew back and stroked our son's cheek before giving it a light pinch, which made him wince. I couldn't help but grin at his reaction—Zak really hated it when she did that.

Just then, I heard whispering emanating from across the table to my left. I turned my attention to my sister and cousin-in-law, who had returned and were now sitting huddled together between Buddy and Gippal. They must've felt my eyes on them with how quickly they went silent and broke apart.

"I say we gets our freak on an' show deeze foo's how it's done!" Trin rose to her feet, grabbed Buddy's hand, and all but yanked him over to the dance floor.

My gaze then fell on Rikku, who seemed rather deep in thought, staring at her half-empty flute of champagne. "I'm sorry," she whispered, turning to Gippal.

"About what?" he asked, looking rather surprised by how he straightened in his seat.

"About…what we've been fighting over. I think you're right. We need to talk, though. Can we step outside for a sec'?"

Gippal nodded, eagerly. "Yeah, yeah, of course."

The couple excused themselves from the table and headed for the exit, but not before my Al Bhed buddy, paused to give me a thumbs-up as though I had something to do with his wife's sudden change of heart.

Now I was _really_ worried. I'd expected my sister to avoid me at all costs, so I couldn't pry any information out of her. But whatever the hell had happened in that ladies room had to have been life-shattering for Rikku to abandon something she wanted, so easily.

"So, have you two picked a date, yet?" Yuna asked, drawing my attention back over to my son and future daughter-in-law.

Alyse smiled shyly, hanging off my son's shoulder. The young woman's mannerisms were very much like Lulu's, but the shyness was a trait all of her own. And I suspected it was one of the things which attracted my son to her in the first place. Despite inheriting her mother's facial features along with her dark hair, she'd managed to retain her father's golden-brown eyes and matching tanned skin. She was a beautiful young woman. And Wakka, like me, had tried to keep his daughter under lock-and-key for so long, only to have his best-friend's son steal her right out from under his nose.

"You wanna tell them, or should I?" Zak asked, glancing down at his blushing fiancée with a wide smile.

Alyse's nodded and turned her attention to both Yuna and I. "Seven months from now, on the fourteenth!"

"That's great!" I exclaimed, genuinely happy for the couple. "Just in time for a spring wedding!"

The smile on my wife's face had quickly faded. "No, that's a horrible time!"

It took quite a bit to shock me nowadays, but Yuna had managed to accomplish just that by her rather brazen response. Judging from the way Zak's eyes widened and how Alyse's mouth was slightly agape, I wasn't the only one stunned by my wife's sudden objection.

"Umm…" Alyse began, rather timidly. "Why is it a bad time, exactly?"

Yuna lowered her gaze. "It…just is."

"Well, Mom…" My son hesitated and furrowed his brow, clearly dreading how he planned to reply. "…that's not really for you to decide."

Afraid of how my wife may react considering her previous episode, I quickly took to my feet, rested a soothing hand on the small of her back, and prepared to smooth things over with our son. "I'm sure your mother doesn't want you to postpone the wedding. She's…uh…not quite herself. It's been a long day."

"Maybe…" Yuna began, slowly. "Maybe we can move it up!" My wife's eyes lit up with hope. "How's two months from now sound?!"

I almost fell back down onto my seat. Why the rush all of a sudden? While my son and his fiancée took a moment to process my wife's suggestion, I leaned in and confronted her in a harsh whisper. "Geez Yuna, what's the urgency, here? Can we at least give our wallets a chance to recover?"

My wife shot me a deathly glare. "We're not poor, Tidus. Besides, Wakka and Lulu insisted they pay for the wedding. I only suggested we help them out some."

"Then maybe you shouldn't be dictating the date of this wedding, since we're not exactly fronting the majority of the gil for it," I countered.

"Everthin' okay, here?" Wakka stood beside his daughter with his gaze shifting between me and my wife.

"Mom, apparently, wants us to get married in the next two months," Zak clarified.

"That's awful soon," Lulu chimed-in, joining us in the circle we'd created. "It doesn't give us a whole lot of time to plan."

Alyse looked at my wife with pleading eyes. "Is there any way you'd reconsider?"

"It just… It can't happen in seven months!" Yuna raised her voice, earning her several stunned looks and a couple raised brows.

"What happens…in seven months, Yuna?" I barely finished my question—afraid of the answer.

When her cheeks flushed and her eyes glossed over with tears, my stomach dropped. A horrible thought had just crossed my mind. Maybe Yuna wanted to move the wedding up, because she had reason to believe…she wouldn't be here in seven months.

My mind swirled in a haze. Suddenly, I felt like I was being asphyxiated. I yanked the bow tie off from around my neck and grabbed a hold of my wife's arm. "Excuse us," I managed to squeak, before dragging Yuna away, and ushering her over toward the exit.

"What are you doing?! Let me go!" she protested.

"You're gonna tell me what's going on!"

"No! It's our daughter's wedding! It can wait until after!"

My pulse was pounding so fiercely, I could feel it in my ears. I stopped short of the doors and turned to confront my wife. "I know what you're gonna tell me."

"Y-You do?"

"Tris and I have these powers now. We'll find a way! We won't let you die! _I _won't let you die!"

"Wait—what?!" Yuna looked at me as if a Ronso horn had just grown out of my forehead. "Who—is that what—you think I'm dying?!"

"Why else would you be acting this way? Unless—"

"Tidus…" My wife grabbed my hand and gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze—something she often did to calm me. "I'm not dying."

"Y-You're not?" Thoroughly confused and unsure if I believed her at this point, I yanked my hand out of her grasp and took a step back. "Then why are you so upset and hell-bent on moving up the wedding?"

Before my wife could respond, the doors swung open and our favorite Al Bhed couple emerged from outside, their cheerful expressions quickly fading when they spotted us in what surely looked like an intense moment.

"You guys…alright?" Gippal asked, cautiously.

When neither of us responded, Rikku exchanged a worried glance with her husband before addressing my wife. "Does he know?"

Yuna hugged her arms and slowly shook her head.

I had to shove my hands into the pockets of my pants in order to resist the urge to punch a hole in the wall, or overturn a table. Rikku and Trin knew what was wrong with my wife before I did—apparently, Gippal now as well. And that infuriated me.

Without giving any of them a chance to explain, I, rather angrily, pushed past them out the door and into the cool night air.

"Tidus...!" My wife had wasted no time in following me out of the venue in hopes of quelling my anger, no doubt. But at this point, I just wanted to be alone. "Please, I can explain!"

I stopped and turned to face her, fists clenched at my sides. "Why bother?! You obviously don't want me to know!"

"No, that's not it!" Her eyes quickly filled with tears. "I didn't want _anyone_ to know, yet. I planned to tell you tomorrow. This is our daughter's special day—hers and Vidina's!"

"You keep saying that! Like this news will be devastating. You're crying and acting like you won't be here to see our son get married. And you expect me to believe you're not sick—that nothing's wrong?!"

"I'm crying because I'm emotional! And the date our son picked to get married is when I'm due!"

"Due? Due for what?! What are you talking about, Yuna?!"

"I'm…pregnant."

My heart stilled. For a moment, I thought I'd hallucinated, which is probably why I respond the way I did. "With…a baby?"

"Well, it's not puppies, Tidus."

With a nervous laugh, I clamped a hand over my mouth as her words slowly began to sink in. Yuna wasn't dying. She was expecting. We were going to have a baby?! I uncovered my mouth and allowed for my arm to go limp at my side. "H-How'd this happen?"

My wife folded her arms and raised an amused brow. "I think you know the answer to that one as well."

"I—I mean, I thought you were still taking…the potion."

"I was," Yuna sighed, her arms dropping to her sides. "But I may have…forgotten to take it a few times over the past year, ever since Tris announced her engagement, and you went all loopy on me."

A joyful chuckle bubbled from my lips, unable to contain my excitement any longer. It finally all made sense—her emotional state, the exhaustion she'd been experiencing for the past few weeks, her switch from coffee to herbal tea, and the mysterious flute of ginger soda. According to her due date, Yuna had been pregnant for about…eight weeks, now. "When did you find out?"

"I've known for about three weeks. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, right away. I should have. Just with everything going on…I didn't want our news to overshadow our daughter's wedding. And…" Yuna's gaze drifted away from mine then settled on the pavement. "…I wasn't sure how you'd react."

"Are you kidding?!" I gathered my wife into my arms and smothered her lips in a long, passionate kiss. We were going to have a baby! I would've never had guessed this was what she'd been keeping from me. How could she have thought I'd be anything but overjoyed by the news? When our lips parted, I gazed into her eyes and grinned. "You've made me the happiest man in all of Spira!"

"Really?" she giggled. "You're okay with doing this all over again—waking-up in the middle of the night, diapers, teething rings, temper tantrums—"

"First words," I interrupted, presenting the positive aspects of parenthood. "First steps, birthday parties, graduation…"

"You're really excited about this, aren't you?" She smirked.

"You're not?"

Yuna's lips curved into an even wider smile. "I couldn't be happier. I think we make beautiful children together, don't you?"

"Mhm." I nodded, swaying our bodies from side to side. "Do you know what I wanna do, right now?"

"I'm almost afraid."

"I wanna take you home and _celebrate_ our wonderful news."

My wife returned my mischievous grin. "Can we at least wait until our daughter throws the bouquet?"

"Hmm… Deal!" I pressed my lips onto hers for a tender kiss then prepared to lead us back into the venue.

"Tidus—wait! We can't let anyone know about this. I wanna wait until Tris and Vidina get back from their honeymoon before we make the announcement."

"You told Rikku… all of Spira will know by the end of the week."

"Uh-uh." Yuna shook her head. "I swore her to secrecy."

"Like that'll work."

"Trin threatened her."

My brows shot up in surprise. "Okay, that might." With my wife's hand in mine, we made our way over to the doors and back into the venue.

* * *

###

Suffice to say; we had plenty of explaining to do when we arrived back inside. Well…more like dodging questions.

Yuna and I had managed to convince our son and his fiancée to at least consider moving the wedding up to five months from now with the promise of revealing as to why, when Tris and Vidina returned from their honeymoon. At first, Yuna had been a little reluctant, voicing her concern to me in a whisper about how _big_ she would be by then. Unfortunately, that was the best we could do for now without revealing her pregnancy.

Wakka and Lulu weren't really the type to pry, but our sudden mirthful behavior had been hard to ignore. And judging from the way the black-mage had kept glancing at Yuna's stomach had me convinced she'd already guessed our _little_ secret.

As the night went on, I'd come to realize how ironic this all had been. Just as I'd finally learned to let go of my children and accept what would've been a new phase of my life—I'd discovered I was going to be a father all over again. Not everyone would be thrilled with the idea of having another child at forty. But I was floating on air. And honestly, forty wasn't that old. I looked damn good for my age, so did Yuna. We were both in great shape with not a single wrinkle on our faces or a grey hair on our heads, which was practically a miracle considering everything we'd been through.

"Whatcha thinkin'?" I asked my wife, holding her in my arms as our bodies slowly swayed on the dance floor to the soft music.

"Mmm… What the kids are gonna think when we tell them the news."

"You're worried about how they'll react?"

"Tidus…they're old enough to be—"

"Don't finish that sentence."

Her face creased with worry. "What if they think we're freaks?"

I couldn't help but chuckle. "If they haven't figured that out by now then I'm seriously worried for them."

"Tidus, I'm serious!"

"C'mon, Yuna, we're anything but the typical family. You're married to a man who you thought was a dream that faded, but actually turned out to be from another realm, and related to a goddess. Our daughter has inherited these strange god-like powers. And you—you're the epic heroine of Spira, saving the world and cheating death not once, not twice, but three times."

"That last time was basically you and our daughter, but I understand what you're saying, I suppose."

"Ugh… Who wants to be _normal_ anyway?" I screwed up my face for emphasis. "We'll never have to worry about being bored, together."

"Sometimes I could use a vacation from all the excitement."

"Aww, you don't really mean that, do you?" Lowering my lips to her ear, I whispered in a husky voice, "Especially since I intend to make things _very exciting_ later."

My wife caught her bottom lip between her teeth and blushed for a second time that night. "I didn't know pregnant women were such a turn-on for you."

I chuckled and rested my forehead against hers. "Only when that pregnant woman is you."

The song ended before the DJ annoyingly tapped the microphone again to announce the tossing of the bouquet.

Easing back from my wife, I gave her a devilish grin. "And you're about to find out just how much after those flowers go flying."

"Promise?" she responded in a sultry voice.

"Always." I took her hand in mine and led us back to our seats in time to watch the bride and all the single ladies take to the dance floor.

What I'd considered to be simple event was shaping-up to be quite the opposite when I spotted my sister, Trin, staggering over to the young women crowding behind my daughter.

"What's she doing?" Yuna asked, concerned. "Is she drunk?"

I glanced behind to find Buddy's seat empty and Rikku and Gippal over by the bar. "Ah, shit."

Wakka chortled. "Trin, forget she's married to Buddy, or somethin'?

"Probably… She looks pretty sloshed," I indicated. "I should get her outta there."

"Oh, let her have some fun," Lulu insisted, leaning back in her seat with a smirk. "I'm sure she'll make this quite amusing."

_Yeah…_ I thought. That's exactly what I was worried about.

"C'mon, 'row 'dat shit on ova'!" Trin bellowed, flapping her arms in the air as though she were a bird about to take flight.

Trista craned her neck to look behind and frowned. "Aunt Trin?!"

This was bad. I knew if I tried to drag my sister out of there now, she'd make a fuss that would surely ruin the moment. But I had to do something.

"Tris!" I called over the chatter of the crowd. "Tris!" When I finally garnered my daughter's attention, I motioned for her to just throw the damn bouquet and get it over with.

With a nod of acknowledgement, she turned around, and tossed the bouquet over her head into the crowd of eager women.

That was when things descended into chaos.

The women lunged forward, bounding over to where they thought the flowers would land.

"I gots it—I gots it! Watch it now!" Trin leapt into the air, knocking over one of the bridesmaids in the process, who grabbed onto the brunette Gippal had unsuccessfully hit-on earlier in the night, ripping her dangly earring off as she tried to break her fall, which resulted in two more young women being bowled over.

My sister had, somehow, managed to catch the bouquet in mid-air, that is, until she landed and slipped on the earring, which sent her flying onto her ass. The flowers flew out of her hands and back up into the air, where they were finally caught by, Alyse, who bounced around, waving the bouquet triumphantly for everyone to see.

The guests erupted with both cheers and laughter.

I held a hand over my face, embarrassed for my sister. That moment quickly passed, however, when everyone at the table—including myself—began howling with laughter to the point of tears.

"Where 'day at—where 'day at?" Trin crawled on the floor, looking for the bouquet as all the ladies began to disperse.

"I gotta get her outta there." Wiping the tears from my eyes, I stood, and made my way over to the dance floor when Buddy finally showed up with an alarmed expression.

"Oh shit!" he cursed, helping me pull my sister to her feet. "What happened?"

"Whaddaya think—she's had too much to drink!" I snapped, making my irritation with him known. "Where have _you_ been?"

"Well believe it or not, there was actually a line going into the men's room."

"Dontch' ya'll be—" Trin hiccuped. "Be f-fightin' now. I gots 'dis."

With one of us on each side of my sister, we escorted her back over to her seat, and sat her down.

"She needs to sober up," I insisted to Buddy, who responded with a deadpan expression.

"I can see that."

"She should've been cut-off a while ago."

"Tell me somethin' Tidus—have you ever tried to tell your sister what to do?"

"Many times."

"And how'd they all work out for you?"

_Not very well. _He had a point. Trin was a hard-head. And I needed to stop being such an overprotective jerk. "You're right, I'm sorry," I sighed. "Do you need any help with her?"

"Nah, I'm good. But thanks."

"Tidus…" My wife motioned with a nod over to our daughter and Vidina. "We should…wish them well."

_Ah, yes,_ _time for that hot tryst with my wife as promised._

"You guys headin' home already?" Wakka asked, surprised.

"Well, it's been a long day," I said, faking a yawn as I stretched out my arms.

Wakka stood and pulled me in for a sturdy hug. "You take it easy, ya?"

"You too, man."

"Who knows," Wakka stepped back wearing a broad smile. "Maybe we'll be celebratin' being grandparents soon."

_That would be very awkward. _Judging from my wife's uneasy expression, she too, was thinking the exact same thing. I let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah that would be…something."

After both Wakka and Lulu said their good-bye's to my wife, Lulu leaned in to give me a hug along with some advice. "Make sure she gets plenty of rest."

My lips curved into a small smile. Lulu knew. That woman had a sixth sense, I swear. "No need to worry. She's in good hands."

The black-mage gave me a knowing smile and then waved as we headed over to where the bride and groom were chatting with a few of their friends.

My daughter caught sight of us first and greeted us with a toothy grin. "You guys look so happy! I was so worried earlier. Zak said something about Mom being upset, but you two are like…glowing."

"Uh…" Yuna seemed awfully flustered by Trista's words, which I found funny, since she'd managed to keep this pregnancy a secret for three weeks now. If she planned to extend that a while longer then she'd have to do better than this. "We're just so…happy for you!" She then enveloped our daughter in a loving embrace. "And we wish you all the happiness in the world!"

"Oh, Mom…" Trista's eyes began to tear-up. "I love you."

"They always get this emotional?" Vidina asked in a rather awkward manner, nervously fidgeting with his tie.

"You'll get used to it."

"I… Uhh… I promise to take good care of her."

Apparently, my new son-in-law was fishing for my approval as though he'd never had it before. Then again, I hadn't been handling this wedding very well since I'd learned of it. "I know you will." I gave him a sturdy pat on the back. "Relax, already. I know I've been nothing short of a flaming drake as of late. Truth is; you're the best thing that's happened to my daughter. And…I've always thought of you as a son. I just wasn't ready to lose my baby girl."

"I'd never keep Trista from you. I hope you know that." His eyes gleamed with emotion, suggesting he was moved by my earlier sentiment. "You're her father. I could never replace you. Just like no one could ever replace my parents. I love your daughter. All I want to do is make her happy."

I was relieved to hear those words. But I never for a second really believed Vidina would try to come between me and my daughter. Since he felt the need to assure me on the matter, I felt even worse about my behavior over the past few weeks. "I know how much you love, Tris. And I know you'll do anything for her. I'm…sorry for how I've been."

"It's okay—I get it. One day I'll probably know how ya feel."

Hopefully, they didn't start on _that_ anytime soon, or it would be incredibly awkward for all of us. I, however, had to accept the idea as being a distinct possibility.

Vidina let out a slight chuckle as though he'd heard my thoughts. "Don't look so tense. We're not plannin' on makin' ya a grandpa anytime soon. We wanna enjoy our youth."

I released a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding and stifled a nervous laugh, hoping my relief wasn't too obvious.

"Daddy!" My daughter flung herself into my arms. "I love you! I'll miss you!"

If it weren't for the news Yuna had given me earlier, I probably would've unraveled at this point. This was _so_ hard…even now. "We'll be living in the same city, so it's not like you'll have far to go for a visit."

Trista pulled back and looked me in the eye with a serious expression. "You and Mom gonna be okay without me and Zak around?"

"I think your father and I will manage just fine on our own." Yuna giggled.

"Your mother's right. Don't worry about us. You two have a safe trip and enjoy that new resort in Kilika."

"Have you seen your brother anywhere?" Yuna asked, standing on the tip of her toes as she scanned the hall.

"Actually, he mentioned something about him and Alyse having to step out earlier. But that they'll be back before the end of the night."

My wife's shoulders slumped, clearly disappointed by the news. "I really wanted to see him again before he left for Bevelle."

"Oh, they're not returning, tonight," Trista indicated.

"Yeah, they're stayin' somewhere in town," Vidina added, rubbing his chin in thought. "Can't remember where though."

"Don't worry." Trista ran a reassuring hand down her mother's arm. "I'll tell them to stop by the house before they head back, tomorrow."

Once we wished the newlyweds well for the final time that night, Yuna and I made brief stop at the open-bar where Rikku and Gippal were still busy nursing their drinks.

"You two look primed for gettin' into trouble," Gippal chuckled.

"That obvious?" I grinned.

Rikku swayed a bit and hiccuped, obviously more than a little tipsy. "I know it's a ssssecret. And I won't telllll. But I just wanna ssssay…congratulations, you guys!"

"Shhhh!" Yuna covered her cousin's mouth with her hand and glanced around, nervously. "Not so loud, Rikku!"

The bubbly blond began to giggle uncontrollably, batting away Yuna's hand.

While my wife tried to calm her drunken cousin, I couldn't resist asking Gippal the question that had been on my mind the moment I'd overheard Rikku at our table. "Mind if I ask what made Rikku have a change of heart?"

"Well..." Gippal slung his arm over my shoulder. "Between Yuna talkin' about goin' through all the crazy-baby-stuff again, and seein' her all emotional from being pregnant—Rikku started to think twice about the whole thing. And she said somethin' along the lines of there was no way in hell she was goin' through all that again."

"The fantasy became more real for her, huh?"

"Exactly," Gippal agreed. "But I can tell you're excited about being a father, again. I'm happy for you both."

"Tidus…" Yuna called, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Are you ready to go?"

Oh, I was ready, alright—eager actually.

* * *

###

When Yuna and I arrived at our two-story, oceanfront home, we were like a couple of teenagers—making-out on the front porch against the door, oblivious to the world around us.

I fumbled with the key, trying to slide it into the lock, while Yuna unbuttoned my shirt and nibbled on my ear. Through the haze of alcohol and lust, I was having great difficulty with my task. All I could think about was ripping off her dress and making her scream my name.

Finally, I'd managed to unlock the door and push it open, almost tripping over the threshold with Yuna in my arms. I kicked the door shut and tossed the keys somewhere onto the floor. Thankfully, we'd forgotten to turn off the lights before we'd left, otherwise we would've ended up on the ground. We stumbled over to the wall on the right, bumping teeth between sloppy kisses. Neither one of us were paying attention to where we were going. And the only thing on my mind was feeling Yuna's skin against mine.

Shrugging my suit-jacket off and onto the floor, I cupped her face, and captured her lips in a fierce kiss. Yuna didn't waste any time, capitalizing on the moment by tugging my dress-shirt out from my pants and undoing the rest of the buttons, all the while expertly massaging her lips against mine. This was hot—really hot. My wife's eagerness certainly matched my own. And I'd always loved when she took control, but tonight, _I_ wanted to be the one to dominate our lovemaking.

Unable to resist the urge any longer, I unzipped her dress, and squeezed her rear. The sexy moan she released into my mouth made my arousal grow even stiffer. Normally, the amount of alcohol I'd consumed would've impeded such a reaction from happening so quickly, but Yuna had been right earlier—news of her pregnancy had served as an aphrodisiac for me.

My wife kicked off her heels. I took the opportunity to do the same with my shoes, resting a hand against the wall in order to steady myself. Yuna and I had always been passionate lovers. In our twenty years of marriage we'd managed to maintain a very healthy sex life. We'd made love in so many different ways and for so many different reasons. But tonight, I knew it would be a unique experience for both of us. We had the whole house to ourselves, a new baby on the way, and no looming threat over our heads—three things we'd never had happen at the same time. This wouldn't be some slow, sensual encounter—this called for some furniture to be rattled. And I knew exactly where to start.

Hoisting my wife off the ground, she instantly wrapped her legs around my waist, gripped my shoulders, and began sucking on my earlobe. I tried to focus on my task, carrying her over into the darkened, dining room. But when she breathed into my ear, I almost lost my grip from the pleasurable sensation that shot down my spine.

Yuna giggled, surely from knowing what had almost transpired. Before she could find another way to distract me, I set her atop of our elegant dining table, and tossed one of the high-backed chairs out of the way. The moon shining in from the window behind, cast a brilliant glow on the exact spot where she sat, making her seem like an ethereal being, as she aggressively peeled my dress-shirt off my shoulders and down my arms.

Breathing heavily with desire, I shimmied the rest of the way out of my shirt, allowing it to fall onto the floor, before crashing my lips against hers. Over twenty years we'd been together and I can honestly say; I've never been more in love with this woman than right now. In the beginning of our marriage, I had these crazy fears—that our love would tarnish over time and our passion would fizzle-out. Man, was I wrong. Our love had only strengthened and our passion had never burned brighter. It seemed like every day we'd fall deeper and deeper in love with one another. I'd never thought it was possible to love someone so completely and with such intensity.

Plunging my tongue inside her mouth, I leaned forward, and lowered her down onto the table. My wife responded to my gesture by digging her hands into my tousled hair and tugging on the strands. When I first met this woman, I would've never guessed she'd turn out to be so wild in bed. Of course, it hadn't started out that way. It took a few times for her to become comfortable with me. But Yuna and I had something most people sorely lacked—chemistry. And every time we made love—sparks would fly.

Finally needing some air, I broke the kiss and moved my lips to her neck, gently sucking on the tender flesh, while one of my hands found its way under the long slit of her dress.

Yuna moaned my name, but then groaned, "Ohhh, we can't do this here!"

I paused and gazed into her eyes. She looked conflicted as ever, wrestling between her desires and what I assumed she believed was _proper etiquette_. "Why not?"

"Because we eat here."

A grin formed on my lips. "Well…what if I told you I intend to honor that tradition?"

It took a second for her to realize what I'd suggested, but when she had, her eyes slightly widened and her cheeks flushed. "Tidus…"

I lightly chuckled at her reaction. The more some things changed; the more others remained the same. "It's just _us_ living here, now. We'll clean it up in the morning. Besides, I have a plan—well, more of a goal."

"Oh really—care to share?"

"Well…" I began, kissing her jawline. "I kinda wanted to…" I paused, my lips moving down to her neck in an open-mouthed kiss. "…do this in every room of the house…" I trailed off again, my palm sliding up her bare thigh as I gazed into her eyes. "…at least twice, before the baby's born. Because after…"

I didn't think I needed to finish for Yuna to know what I was going to say. The next few months would be our last chance to do anything wild. We were going to be raising another child. And when this one grew up, we'd probably be getting too old to do crazy stuff like this.

From the way my wife was biting down on her lower lip with her eyes half-lidded, I figured she'd came to the same conclusion. "Every room, huh?"

"Uh-huh." I nodded, dipping my head down to her chest, before adding in a whisper, "Twice."

"Only twice?" she breathed. "Isn't…three times a charm?"

_Now we're talking. _"Hell, why stop there." I buried my face into her cleavage, kissing and nipping at the mounds of flesh, and earning a loud moan in reply.

With her fingers trailing down the muscles in my back, I tore open the slit of her dress all the way up to her hip, and hooked a finger into the side of her lace panties.

My pulse was racing. Yuna and I never really had an opportunity to do anything like this before—not that we had limited ourselves to only the bed over the years. We'd had sex in the shower, on the floor, on sofas at inns, against the wall, and that one time in a hot spring. But this—this was different. This was forbidden furniture in our house—furniture I'd yet to strike-off my sexual fantasy list with her.

Just as I began to tug at her panties, the room brightened, and a pair of gasps came from behind.

"By The Twelve!"

I froze, recognizing the male voice. Before I could form a coherent thought, Yuna shoved me off of her with such force; I landed up against the wall, and onto my ass.

The shock from the impact had, luckily, deflated my excitement, preventing any further embarrassment. There was nothing quite like the mortification of being caught by one of your children just as you were ravaging their mother. And from the way my son and his fiancée were shielding their eyes, it was not something they would soon forget either.

Yuna, if I had to guess, probably wanted to disappear. I'd never seen a blush spread over so much of a person's body, so quickly. My wife was suffused in a bright pink as she hopped off the table, clutching the loose material at her chest with one hand, and trying to close the long gash in her dress with the other.

In an effort to break the uncomfortable silence, I spoke first with a question I'm sure Yuna wanted to know as well. "What are you two doing here?"

"I still have a key, remember?" Zak clarified. "Or do you want it back?"

"N-No!" Yuna stammered. "We—just—your sister didn't mention you were stopping by, _tonight_."

"We came here to get a few things I'd left in the basement. We were just about to head back to the reception. In fact—we should really get going." Zak turned and began to usher Alyse out of the room.

"Zak—wait!" Yuna pleaded.

My son paused and sighed heavily, clearly reluctant to turn around, but out of respect had done so to look his mother in the eye. "Yeah, Mom?"

"I'd really like it if you two had dinner with us before leaving town, tomorrow."

"Uhh…" Zak's gaze shifted between the dining table, me, and his mother's torn dress. He then cringed and turned his head away. "How about we… _take you guys out_ for dinner, tomorrow. We'll make sure we call, though, before showing up."

"That'd be great!" I exclaimed, desperately trying to disguise my embarrassment as I finally climbed to my feet. "We'll see you then!"

Alyse giggled, earning a questionable look from my son. "I think it's kinda cute. I hope we'll be just like them when we're their age."

"Okay, we're leaving now." Zak hastily guided his fiancée out the room before he called over his shoulder, "Mom, Dad—g'nite."

"G'nite," I chuckled, unable to stifle my nervous laughter any longer.

As soon as we heard the front door shut, Yuna buried her face into her hands, and groaned. "Omigosh, I can't believe that just happened!"

My chuckling intensified. "I can't believe you invited them over for dinner, after they caught us on the table like that."

"I knew this was a bad idea," she whined, her arms dropping to her sides in defeat.

"Oh, c'mon—it could've been worse." I gave her my famous grin and gathered her into my arms. "They could've walked in five minutes later and found my head between your thighs."

Yuna groaned and rested her forehead against my shoulder, clearly still flustered by the turn of events. "Only you'd think of something like that."

After a long moment of silence between us, I worked-up the courage to voice my desires, hoping the night wasn't lost. "Y'know…I still wanna finish what we started."

My wife looked up at me with a bit of surprise. "You serious?"

"C'mon Yuna, I think it's a safe bet we won't be interrupted anymore, tonight."

"I dunno…" With her expression marred in conflict, she turned away, and sighed heavily.

I stared at the inky-blue painted walls for a moment, contemplating my next move. I was never one to back-down from a challenge. And I wasn't going to start now.

Unwilling to concede, I rested a hand on her bare shoulder, brushed back the long strands of hair in my way, and lowered my lips to the crook of her neck for a slow, sensual kiss. Yuna responded with a sharp intake of breath and by arching her back against my chest. Confident in my persuasion skills, I snaked an arm around her hips, slipped my hand beneath the torn slit in her dress, and slithered my fingers underneath her lace panties.

"Tidussss…" she hissed, pressing her back more firmly against my chest.

A lopsided grin inched across my lips, knowing she was succumbing to my advances. I deepened my touch, massaging her slick, bundle of nerves in wide circles and earning a breathy moan. But I didn't stop there. I slid the hand I had on her shoulder down to one of her breasts, feeling her nipple swell under the silk material. Yuna moaned my name this time. And I replied according, dragging my thumb, back and forth, over the hardened peak.

"Nh… Mmm…"

I gently pinched her nipple and moved my fingers faster at her core. Her erotic cries grew louder and increased with frequency. "What's that, Yuna?" I breathed into her ear. "You want me to stop?" I halted my movements and watched the blissful expression on her face turn fierce.

"Don't tease me!" she growled, whirling around in my arms, and backing me up against the table.

One of the things I'd learned early on about my wife was to never leave her hanging when it came to physical pleasure, or she'd turn into a chimera, which usually resulted in some rough sex afterward. But I wasn't looking to get _that_ rough with her tonight. So, I had to find a way to tame this tigress before she pounced on me.

Unfortunately my reflexes had been slightly impaired from all the champagne and fire-whisky. In what seemed like a matter of seconds, Yuna had my fly undone, my pants around my ankles, and my member buried in her mouth. I gripped the edge of the table, surprised by her forcefulness, and groaned as my eyes slipped shut.

It was hard to believe this was the same shy and timid woman I'd met in Besaid when I'd first arrived in Spira. Well…actually it wasn't. Yuna had abandoned much of that part of herself a long time ago. But there were still some remnants of that young woman, which would remind me every-so-often of how much she'd grown over the years. And how much I'd grown with her.

Yuna's motions grew more aggressive, her head bobbing up and down as she sucked punishingly hard on my arousal, and squeezed my shaft. My breaths had tuned into pants. My stomach began to tighten. I was close. And she had to have known it.

"Yu… I'm… I…" Words escaped me. I knew I had to stop her soon, or the night would be finished.

Much to my surprise, my wife had halted her motions on her own, and released her grip on me. "What's wrong?" she giggled, rising to her feet to meet my bleary gaze. "Were you close?"

She knew damn well I'd been. In fact—I was still trying to recover from almost exploding in her mouth. "You're being…a very naughty, girl," I quipped through heavy breaths.

Her lips curved into a seductive smile. "What are you gonna do about it?"

Oh, she was in trouble now. Gripping her hips, I swept her off the floor and laid her down atop of the dining table. My lips hovered inches away from hers as I gazed into her eyes, and whispered in a husky voice, "I'm gonna make you pass out from pleasure—that's what I'm gonna do about it."

"That'd be quite an accomplishment."

Man, I loved a challenge. "You'd know better than to bet against me." With my adrenaline pumping, I tore open the remainder of her dress like a wild fiend, and began feasting on one of her breasts.

Yuna mewled, hooking a leg around my waist as she dragged her nails down my back. The sex between us had always been intense, regardless of what form it took. But honestly, I preferred when it was more playful like now. For some reason it just seemed more natural for us—coinciding with our personalities.

With her nipple caught between my teeth, I teasingly traced a finger down the crease of her panties, and marveled at how they were soaked through.

Yuna squirmed and whimpered, "Please…"

Man, this woman knew how to drive me wild. I loved nothing more than hearing her beg for my touch. Early on in our relationship, I'd thought it would've taken more than a few times for her to come out of her shell. But I'd quickly learned that Yuna had come to love sex just as much as I had—maybe even more. Or maybe, we were just that right for one another—a perfect match.

I lifted her hips and tugged off her panties, tossing them somewhere behind. There was nothing more erotic than feasting on the woman I loved—and how my lips and tongue had always made her come apart at the seams. I loved pleasuring my wife. And loved how she sounded when she reached her peak.

When I dragged my tongue over her cluster of nerves, she hitched a breath, and jerked her hips back in surprise. I vaguely remember Yuna being extra sensitive in this region when she was pregnant with the twins. And considering it had been a few weeks since our last encounter—due to me being stressed about the wedding—I'd bet all the gil in our account, she was experiencing those changes again.

I gripped my wife's hips and pulled her closer, excited about the pleasure I was about to bestow upon her body. Slowly, I glided my tongue along her nerve endings, allowing her to adapt to the elevated sensation. She mewled and began to squirm in my grasp.

Switching my technique, I left a series of open-mouth kisses at her core before inserting two of my fingers into her moist heat. My gesture was rewarded with a long moan and a roll of her hips.

There'd never been a time I hadn't enjoyed doing this sort of act. Of course those girls in Zanarkand had never compared to Yuna—not even close. Everything about my wife was exquisite; how sweet she tasted, how silky she felt, how hot she looked, and how amazing she sounded when she reached her pinnacle. I'd never known what it was like to be in love until I met this woman. She'd transformed my existence into something tangible. She meant everything to me.

Eager to show her my appreciation, I inserted a third finger, curled it inside with the other two and pressed them against that magical spot. Yuna groaned loudly, her hands finding a home in my disheveled hair. Those gorgeous hips of hers began rocking against my face, begging me for more. And I wasn't about to disappoint.

Reveling in the taste of her essence, I enclosed my mouth over my wife's bundle of nerves, and sucked hard before adding some flicks into the rotation. A pleasurable squeal left Yuna's lips. Her grip on my hair tightened to the point I was afraid she may rip out some strands.

I responded to her rapture by growing more aggressive in my technique—flicking my tongue faster, sucking her harder, and pressing down on _that_ spot with more vigor.

By now, Yuna's squirming had grown almost uncontrollable. Her heavy breaths had turned into pants. And her erotic cries had increased in both pitch and frequency. Then, suddenly, she gasped, arched her back, and slammed her arms down onto the sturdy, wooden surface. "Ohhh… Omigosh—omigosh—omi—"

The erotic wail that followed had to have been the loudest I'd ever heard. And the flood that gushed out of her onto the table had been pretty epic as well. There was truly no greater accomplishment in bed than making a woman erupt like a geyser. And I'd been very fortunate over the years at mastering the art with my wife.

A joyful chuckle bubbled out of me as I wiped the liquid off my mouth and resurfaced over her. From how she was quivering and holding a hand against her chest, I knew she'd been quite overwhelmed by my erotic maneuvers. "You alright?"

"Mhm." Yuna nodded then giggled. "That was…hot."

"_You're_ hot."

Her hand made it to the back of my neck and guided me down to her lips for a heated kiss. As steamy as our encounter had been so far, I couldn't help but relish in a moment like this—where our lips did the talking. And right now, from the way her lips slowed to a more sensual movement, my wife was assuring me that no matter how hot the exchange may be between us; we were still making love to one another.

When our lips parted, I changed the pace of my motions—leaving feathery kisses down her neck, over her breasts then down her tummy. I froze with my lips firmly planted on her abdomen. Inside; a child was growing—our child. My stomach fluttered. It was amazing how something so simple could be so profound at the same time. For me, there was no better way for a couple to express their love for one another than creating a life together.

"Tidus…?"

Yuna's voice cut through my thoughts. I looked up and was met with her worried expression. "I was just thinking about the baby."

The concern on my wife's face melted into an endearing smile. "I know it's been a while, but I remember it's perfectly safe to—"

"Yeah, I know—that's not what I was thinking about," I interrupted. "I was thinking how lucky I am to be father again…and to have you in my life."

"Tidus…"

I was so completely in love with this woman. And showing her was one of my favorite things to do. Focusing back to the task at hand, I gripped Yuna's hips, pulled her to the edge of the table, and offered her an impish grin. "Y'know...doing stuff like this will only keep growing our family."

"Good thing I can't get any more pregnant."

With a seductive chuckle, I leaned down to give her a quick, tender kiss then buried myself into her silky warmth, and began rocking my hips against her at a steady pace.

My wife voiced her pleasure, throwing her head back, and letting out a long pleasurable moan. Every time we made love it was special and unique in its own way. I guess that's what happens when you find your soul mate. But our love seemed even deeper than that. It was as though we were each other's twin flame—another folklore story from my Zanarkand days, but since all the folklore from before had turned out true…I had to wonder. If there were ever two souls who could find each other in several lifetimes—it would be us.

Dipping my head, I enclosed my mouth over one of her breasts, and teasingly flicked at the nipple with my tongue. Yuna responded with a sexy moan and by wrapping her legs around my waist, driving me deeper inside her snug heat. This felt way too good. I was already beginning to feel that pleasurable tension build deep inside.

I released her breast from my lips, slowed the pace of my thrusts, and stole a tender kiss. This woman was so amazing. She made _me_ feel amazing. "So good… You feel sooo… Ahh…"

An indulgent smile spread across her lips. "Faster…" she breathed.

Complying with my wife's demands, I leaned back, gripped her hips tightly, and began furiously pumping myself into the slick heat of her core. The strangled cry that left her lips almost sent me over the edge. She looked so incredibly sexy sprawled out on our dining table with strands of hair clinging to her face and shoulders, breasts bouncing to my every thrust, eyes closed in bliss, and lips parted as she moaned between heavy breaths.

The pleasurable tension in my loins returned. I bit down on my bottom lip, hoping to prolong my release. I hadn't noticed before, but the force of my thrusts had the table rattling so much that the vase of flowers further down toward the middle had toppled over, and was rolling back and forth. The rolling vase, thankfully, served as a welcome distraction, enabling me to continue pleasuring my wife.

Suddenly, Yuna leaned up, laced her hands at the back of my neck, and pulled me down for a quick, sloppy kiss. "So… So close…"

Man, was I relieved to hear those words. I, honestly, didn't think I could hold out for much longer. Determined to give her the release she craved, I angled her hips in just the right position, and slapped our bodies together with such force and velocity; the vase rolled right off the table and onto the floor.

Suddenly the room felt like a raging inferno. My pulse rapidly increased in rate. I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing I was close. Then, I felt it—Yuna's muscles clenching around me. Her eyes grew wide then slipped shut. And that's when she erupted again—her essence soaking my pelvis as a long, erotic squeal spilled from her lips.

That did it for me. Intense pleasure shot through my groin and reverberated throughout the rest of my body. I groaned loudly, feeling my release roll through me in waves. With the final thrusts from my hips, I sank into my wife's arms, breathing heavily against her neck as I leaned her back down onto the table.

"Omigosh… That was so… Sooo good," Yuna panted, her fingers drawing little circles of appreciation on my back.

"Uh-huh," I breathed.

After a few moments, my wife, suddenly, giggled. "We certainly defiled this table, tonight."

"Yeah, I'd say." I lifted my head and met her gaze with a grin.

"It's gonna need a real good cleaning."

I let out a breath of a laugh. "We'll deal with it in the morning. Right now, let's worry about getting _ourselves_ cleaned, and heading to bed. I'm really worn out."

My wife smothered my lips in a slow, sensual kiss then smiled. "I love you."

"Even though I wrecked your dress?"

"I suppose it was for the best. I wasn't very fond of it to begin with."

"Why'd you buy it then?"

"I didn't want to upstage the bride with the flashy, blue one I liked. Plus, I saw your face when I tried it on."

"Oh?" I playfully raised a brow.

"I figured it wouldn't last the night."

"So you _did_ plan to seduce me with it."

Yuna snickered. "Maybe…"

This woman sure had changed over the years. Sometimes I wondered how much of me rubbed off on her. "C'mon trouble, let's get you cleaned up and put to bed."

* * *

###

"_Teeeeduuusssss…"_

I winced and rolled on my side, facing the window. I was in that state somewhere between sleep and consciousness, which I couldn't understand as to why, since I was completely exhausted from earlier. After Yuna and I had showered and changed into our sleepwear, I'd wasted no time in crawling underneath the satin sheets of our queen-size, canopy bed, and passing out the moment my head had hit the pillow.

"_Teeeduussssss…" _

Unsure if I was dreaming, or not, I tried to respond to my wife as best I could. "Y-Yeah?" I mumbled, almost inaudibly.

"_Teeeeduuuussssss…." _

At this point, I was almost afraid she wanted to go at it again. I knew her sex drive would increase, but damn. There was nothing left of me after earlier. "Yu… I… Tired…"

"_When… Shadows… A month… Die …"_ whispered, the voice.

_What the hell?_ I _had_ to be dreaming. Kilika fire-whisky was some dangerous stuff. Had I known it would've done this to me, I would've refrained from drinking it.

"_When the shadows fly, you'll have only a month, and then she'll die." _

Now _that_ I heard loud and clear—and it sounded nothing like Yuna. My eyes shot open. And not a second after, I heard my wife's piercing scream.

Springing into action, I flipped over just as she was being yanked out of our bed by a dark, shadowy figure. "Yuna!"

My wife reached out for me, her eyes wide in horror as the entity dragged her by the ankles across our bedroom carpet toward a black and violet, swirling vortex. "Tidus!" she hollered.

Bounding off the bed, I dove to the ground and grabbed her hand, gripping her tightly against both the pull of the entity and the portal it clearly wanted to use in its abduction.

"Don't let go!" she pleaded.

"Don't worry, I got you!" I should've grabbed her other hand, instead I used my free one to fire a set of force spells at the shadowy figure. The bright light from the spells passed right through the entity and erupted into several blinding blasts against our bedroom wall.

An inhuman, maniacal laugh echoed throughout the room.

My heart froze. The spell had gone right through that thing like it wasn't even there. I couldn't kill it. Impossible…

"Tidus!"

Yuna's fingers were slipping out of mine. Before I could grab onto her with my other hand, the entity stood in front of the swirling portal, and yanked her out of my grasp.

"Tiduuuuussss!

"Noooo!"

"_Thiirrrtyyy daaayyysss…"_

Within seconds, the vortex swallowed both the shadowy figure and my wife before it imploded in a bright blast and disappeared.

For several long minutes, I lay paralyzed, staring at the last spot I saw Yuna. Tears spilled from my eyes. This couldn't be happening. Not again. Why? Did I do something horrible in another life? None of this made sense. _Nothing_ made sense. _Life_ no longer made sense!

I crawled on the floor over to where the portal had been and sat on the back of my legs, clawing at the carpet. There had never been a time in my life where I truly wanted to die. But in that moment, I really wish I had. My wife and unborn child—I failed them. And I had no idea what to do, how to find them, or what the hell had even taken them. I was all alone.

A burning sensation filled my chest. My gut twisted with dread. My throat tightened. Just when I thought I'd burst, I threw my head back and let out a long, agonizing wail into the night.

"Tidus!"

I froze, unsure if I'd actually heard my wife's voice, or if I was hallucinating. "Yuna?!"

"Tidus!"

Her voice gave me a renewed sense of hope. If I could hear her then maybe I could find her. Scrambling to my feet, I sniffled and wiped the tears from my eyes. "Yuna—Yuna where are you?!"

"Tidus!"

I opened our bedroom door and stuck my head out into the darkened hall, trying to determine where her voice was coming from. "Yuna!"

Suddenly, something grabbed onto my shoulders and spun me around. I was met with a blinding light and then…

"Tidus!"

The next thing I knew, I was staring into my wife's concerned eyes.

"Tidus—you okay?"

I blinked in confusion, my eyes darting around our dimly lit room. The lamp atop the nightstand on her side of the bed was on, the door to our room was closed, the wardrobe and vanity all were in the right place, the sheer fabric of the canopy was above our bed—everything _seemed_ normal. "W-What happened?"

"It's okay." Yuna threaded her fingers through my hair in a soothing manner. "It was just a bad dream."

The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I'd heard that before. Twenty years ago in fact. "No, it wasn't a dream," I insisted, shifting to sit up.

"Tidus…"

I shook my head, adamantly. "I'm not gonna make the same mistake twice. I'm gonna tell you everything."

"Tidus…"

"No, just listen!" I grabbed her hands and looked her in the eye. "Something wants to take you and our baby from me. I don't know what it is yet… Some dark entity… But I won't let that happen!"

"Nothing's coming to get me, Tidus."

"I know you want to believe that—trust me, I'm sick of this shit too—but we can tell the others. You know they'll help. Wakka, Lulu, and I'm sure Rikku and—"

"Hey!" Yuna cupped my face and held my gaze. "Nothing is coming to take me and our baby from you."

I shied away and frowned. "Why won't you believe me?"

"I believe… I believe _you_ believe what you saw was real."

"So you think I'm crazy?"

With a dejected sigh, Yuna held a hand up to the side of her face, and shook her head. "I wouldn't say that."

Determined to prove her wrong, I tried to remember the shadowy figure's warning. "It said something about thirty days. When the shadows fly, you'll have only a month, and then she'll die—see!"

Yuna gave me a sympathetic look. "Oh, Tidus… I know who this dark entity is."

"You do?"

"Mhm." She nodded then tilted her head slightly to the side. "It's you."

"What?!"

"Shhh…" she cooed, coaxing me to lie back onto the pillows. "Now, you're gonna listen to me, okay?"

"But—"

Yuna held a finger up to my lips, silencing me. "No buts." Her face softened. "You've had to deal with loss at an early age. You were orphaned by the time you were eight. When you were seventeen, you were whisked away from your world and dumped into Spira. Only to be fooled into believing your entire existence had been a lie. And then go from _that_ to being trapped in a dimensional rift for two years."

"Ripped away from the only woman I'd fallen in love with _then_ trapped in a dimensional rift," I corrected.

"Right... And when you finally returned from that _dark place_, you discovered everything Bahamut had told you had been a lie, and that you were caught in the middle of a war between realms. It just goes on and on. All you've ever known is chaos."

"Why are you dredging all this up?"

"Because you've never dealt with any of it."

I scoffed. Was she for real? "Of course, I have. We defeated Spira's keepers, I got Zak back—"

"That's not what I mean," she interjected, shaking her head. "While I admire your courage and appreciate how you've tasked yourself over the years to be the one to solve all the peril we've faced—you've neglected to deal with how all of this has affected you. It's why you have panic attacks, all this anxiety, and the need to control things. You're afraid of losing everyone and everything good in your life."

My throat tightened with emotion. She wasn't wrong. "It's just how it is."

"Tidus…you expect the worst to happen. You're anticipating a new threat, even now. But this _thing_ you saw—it's just a manifestation of your inner demons…your fears."

"What if you're wrong?"

Her fingers slid down my face where she lovingly stroked my cheek with her thumb. "This realm has been liberated for three years now. Both Thaliak and Nymeia assured us no harm would ever come to Spira once we accomplished that. You have the word of a god and a goddess—it doesn't get any better than that, unless Hydaelyn herself spoke to you."

I wanted to believe her. And yet, at the same time, I didn't want to. It would mean I was…damaged.

"Do you believe me?"

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I blinked back the tears stinging my eyes, and nodded. Her scenario was certainly better than the alternative, but I wasn't fond of the idea of being a victim either.

"You're not alone—you haven't been for a very long time. I'll do everything in my power to help you, but I can't slay these demons for you. In the end, you need to be the one to vanquish this darkness."

As much as I didn't want to admit it—Yuna was right. I'd kept things bottled-up my entire life. It was so much easier than having to deal with them. My past haunted me. I'd never really dealt with my screwed-up childhood, let alone, the twisted shit Spira's keepers had dragged me through. A tear escaped the corner of my eye. I made a move to turn my head away, but Yuna blocked my efforts by keeping her hand firmly pressed against my cheek.

"I know what you fear most. And I can assure you it will never happen. You'll never be alone. You have way too many family and friends for that to ever happen. But if you allow these fears to consume you, then you'll drive yourself mad to the point where _we_ will lose _you._"

I choked back a sob as even more tears trickled out from my eyes. This woman knew me better than I knew myself. And she continued to be correct in her assessment of me. I'd never forgiven myself for all the mistakes I'd made in life—in fact, I'd come to somewhat resent myself because of them. This _dark entity_ represented the cycle of torment I'd created as a form of punishment for all my failures. I'd become my own worst enemy.

Struggling to control my emotions, I drew in a quick breath, and wiped the tears from my eyes. "I'm not sure how to fight this."

"Focus on the positive things in your life—and not all the ways you could potentially lose them. Allow yourself to be happy. Stop punishing yourself for stuff that was beyond your control—not everything is your fault. Sure you've made mistakes, but so have I. We're not perfect. No one is. You're an incredible man; respected by many, adored by our children, and I… I love you more than you could ever possibly imagine."

My lips bloomed into a wide smile. This woman was truly an enigma. Unable to resist, I leaned up and captured her lips in a tender kiss. To me, Yuna was perfect. She was my constant. Her love had managed to keep me, somewhat, sane throughout the years. Trin had been right, earlier. The only thing I was in danger of losing was my mind. And thankfully, my wife had made me realize that before it was too late.

When our lips parted, Yuna offered me her famous half-smile, signifying she was unsure if her words had reached me. "You gonna be, okay?"

"As long as I have you by my side—I'll be just fine."

My wife's expression eased. She then turned to switch off the lamp and settled on her side, guiding my arm to drape over her waist.

Snuggling against my wife's warm body, I breathed in the floral scent of her hair, and protectively rested my hand against her tummy. I couldn't wait to meet this little fella, or sweetheart growing inside this amazing woman of mine. It's funny…earlier tonight my daughter had assured me I'd always be her hero. But even hero's had to have one of their own. And mine was Yuna.

From the very beginning, Yuna had been my guiding light. She'd saved me from falling into darkness when I'd first arrived in Spira. With her I'd learned to not take things for granted. I'd learned to love, laugh, and be a man. And when I'd been trapped in the darkness of that dimensional rift, Yuna had never stopped searching for me. She'd even pleaded with that demon Bahamut for my return, oblivious to what that would actually entail in the future. She'd forgiven my past transgressions. She had never once abandoned me—even when I'd felt I deserved to be. And even now, twenty-three years later, she's _still_ saving me.

I silently made a vow to this incredible woman, to my children, and to myself—to never again be lost in the darkness. After all, I had a light to guide me. Yuna had always been and always will be—my light beyond the darkness.

* * *

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_Thanks for reading! Hope you all enjoyed it. Comments are always welcome. _


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